Stage 6 · Lesson 3 of 6
Hypotheses before fixes
Instead of asking for a fix straight away, ask for a ranked list of possible causes and how to test each one, with no code changes yet. Then test them: add a log line, set a breakpoint, change one input, check a version. Each result rules a hypothesis in or out, and you learn how the system actually behaves.
This is how experienced engineers debug, and it stops the tool from guessing a fix that happens to hide the symptom. Cursor has a Debug mode built on this idea: the agent forms , adds temporary log statements, asks you to reproduce the bug, reads the logs, then makes a targeted fix and removes its instrumentation.
Common trapaccepting the first change that makes the error message disappear without ever knowing why it appeared.
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Resources for this stage
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- CourseFreeThe Missing Semester of Your CS Education
MIT · Beginner
MIT's free lecture on debugging and profiling covers logging, debuggers and tools you will use for years